His lips nuzzled her ear. “Whether you go or stay, I will love you until I die,” he whispered.

As all-consuming as a young girl's fancies were ... a woman's desires could be twice as dangerous.

Love isn't a burst o' trumpets and a flock o' doves descendin' out o' the heavens to roost on yer heads. Tis sharin' a cup o' tea by the hearth on a cold winter's night. 'Tis the look in yer husband's eyes when ye lay yer first child in his arms. Tis the ache in yer heart when ye watch the light in his eyes dim fer the last time, and know a part o' ye has gone out o' this world with him.

We're all haunted in one way or another, are we not? If not by spirits, then by our own demons and regrets.

A true friend never asks you to feed their imaginary fish. Or fertilize their imaginary crops.

Then you're a bigger fool than I thought. Since when has any man ever been worthy of the woman he loved? It's only by God's grace that they love us in spite of ourselves.

You care enough to play hard to get.